I Ain't Fraid a No Snakes!

Walking through the woods in an attempt to sneak up on some wood ducks, not even gentle gliding footsteps could mask the crunch of the pathway, flushing the woodies pretty quickly. Checking my surroundings, spying a place to hide and wait for their return, I find a place to suit my needs. With the ground saturated, I had to be higher than I wanted and sat on the moist ground atop of leaves and waited behind some trees. There wasn't much to see but swamp, so checking my images and manipulating my settings kept me busy. Passing the time focusing on adjustments, my ears perk to a slight rustling sound nearby. I scan the immediate area looking for a squirrel or a bird, find nothing and go back to my adjustments. Then, it occurs to me: I didn't check for snakes. Scanning again, I find the source of the disturbance. It was coming directly at me from about 4 feet away. I quickly displayed plenty of my own movement to prevent him from coming any closer. He freezes and tests the air with his tongue. Cool! I try to focus on him but he is too close for my telephoto. He decides I am bigger than him and yields to my territory, heading straight for the water. He picks a spot at the waters edge about 10 feet from me. Time passes without wood ducks returning, so I decide I need a close up of the snake, since I have nothing better to do. I want a head on shot so I have to get up and move. As I do this, I almost step on another larger snake. Jeez, these guys are really testing my fear/no fear. I don't know exactly how long I was vulnerable to these guys, but the not knowing, then knowing can really freak you out. Next time, I am bringing a chair!